Promises Broken
by a little duckling
Summary: A car crash leaves Finn in a coma. Kurt tries to comfort a dejected Rachel, but what he doesn't know is that she has a secret only adding to the tragedy of the accident. Oneshot. Finchel and Hummelberry friendship.


**Hey! It's Dana, princessgleeky, I just changed my pen name... because princessgleeky sounds kind of lame.**

**I hope you like this story, it's a oneshot, and... grab your tissues. Just warning y'all. ;)**

Kurt Hummel had trouble even seeing straight as he sped through the busy hallways of the hospital. He had been overtaken by too much intense emotion; shock, fear. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, along with Carole's heartbreaking words when she called the school to pull him out of class.

As he reached the room number his dad had given him, the first thing to catch his eye was a small brunette, sitting on a nearby bench with her knees curled to her chest, her dark eyes staring wistfully at the floor. She had several cuts on her face and her left arm, her right one bandaged up and hanging in a sling. Rachel looked so helpless, so dejected, it only caused his heart to break more.

"Hey," he greeted awkwardly, sliding his arms around her waist and squeezing a little. It was a really stupid thing to say, but he didn't know how else to comfort her. Rachel was probably going through hell...

"Hi Kurt," she responded blandly.

"What... How did it happen?"

Rachel closed her eyes, scrunching up her face, causing several tears to stream down her cheeks. Kurt felt immediately bad for asking; the crash was probably very traumatic for her.

"I should be the one in a coma," she said in small voice, almost a whisper.

He didn't respond, too afraid that he would say something out-of-line again. He gave her another comforting squeeze as he held her waist.

"I'll tell you though. If you really want," she added out of the blue, clearly sensing the fact that he wasn't trying to push her to say anything.

"Whatever you're comfortable with."

Rachel sighed as another tear slid down.

"There was a car in the lane next to us at one point on the way to school. I never saw the person driving, but- well, he or she was obviously drunk or high or something because this car was just swerving out of control. And suddenly, F-Finn screamed out m-my n-name, and..." She turned around to fall into Kurt's shoulder as tears consumed her. He stayed silent still, rocking back and forth gently.

"H-He r-reached out t-to protect m-me," she continued, trying her best to speak clearly through her uncontrollable sobs.

"A-And the whole f-front of m-my car was smashed. I b-barely got hurt, b-but he..."

"Shh..." Kurt comforted, knowing that recalling what had happened wasn't going to calm her.

"Has the doctor told you anything about his condition?"

"H-He p-probably won't s-survive the rest-t of the d-day, Kurt..." she choked out, and Kurt felt the wet spot on his shirt grow. He couldn't care less. He wished he could just wake up from this awful nightmare, but he didn't want to even try to understand what it was like for the girl his stepbrother had loved more than words could describe.

"Where are my dad and Carole?" he asked quietly as tears welled up under his own eyes.

"W-With him."

For several minutes, they just stayed like that, Kurt holding Rachel tightly as she wept into his shirt, her body shaking to the point where she could hardly breathe.  
>She didn't want to comprehend the idea of losing Finn, especially after last night. Especially after he'd held her in his arms and swore to love her forever...<br>Kurt and Rachel were both shaken when Carole stepped out of the room, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Burt followed behind her, his arm resting on her back comfortingly.

"Do either of you want a turn?" she asked, her voice hoarse and strained.

"Rachel..." Kurt sighed, trying to lift her off of his chest.

"No," she protested, fresh tears gliding down her face as she shook her head, leaving shining trails.

"Why not?" he asked. She had sounded like she wanted to tell him so much, why was she being stubborn?

"Kurt," his father said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't push her."

"I'm sorry," Rachel sobbed, stumbling on to her feet and dashing away. She couldn't handle it. The atmosphere surrounding Finn's room; of this complete and utter loss of hope.

She ran until she reached the ladies' room, falling against the door and tumbling onto the hard tile floor. Rachel was shaking, gasping, sobbing harder than she ever had in her life. But she needed to hold it, to see it, to hear his words echo in his head: _"I want to spend the rest of my life with you..."_

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the ring; the metal part had gotten bent, but with one hand, she still managed to fit it on her ring finger. The diamond, although stained with blood, had not even been scratched. She stared at her hand, her fingers outstretched in front of her, the tainted jewel sparkling in the pale light. She didn't know why she put herself through this torture. The ring was just a reminder of all the promises that would never be kept. Of the fact that the love of her life was dying, dying because he shielded her and possibly saved her life, taking all the injuries she should've gotten.

"Rachel..." sighed Kurt as he knocked on the door of the restroom. "Rachel, I can't come in. But I just wanted to apologize."

Rachel gathered herself off the floor, reaching for a paper towel and wiping her eyes off. She felt terrible inside; Finn wouldn't want her to be a weeping mess like this.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly to Kurt as she made her way out of the door, even forcing a little smile.

"Really? I feel bad about upsetting you."

She shook her head.

"It wasn't you."

"Okay," Kurt said as he gave Rachel another hug.

"We'll help each other through this, right?"

"Of course."

His hand found Rachel's and their fingers intertwined. They were about to start walking back to Finn's room when he noticed the ring Rachel was wearing.

"...what's that on your finger?"

Rachel's breath suddenly hitched. She had forgotten to take it off. Unclasping her hand from Kurt's, she quickly stuck her left hand being her back.

"Nothing," she mumbled dismissively.

Kurt grabbed her arm, not buying it, so he could see for himself what she was hiding. On her finger was a diamond ring, or so he assumed, as half of it was covered in a splotchy shade of red.

"That isn't a..." he began, looking at Rachel with eyes full of shock. "...an engagement ring..?"

The brunette nodded sadly with closed eyes, a fresh tear rolling down her cheek. She wasn't going to break down again though. She had to hold it back, stay strong.

"H-He gave it to me last night," she whispered, not wanting to talk at full volume and end up crying uncontrollably again. "It had been his mom's, but she had given it to him when she married your dad. He said she told him to give it to whoever he married someday but..." she paused to take a couple breaths. "He said she knew it was going to be mine when she gave it to him."

"Aw, Rachel..." Kurt sighed sympathetically.

"It wasn't really an engagement though. I mean, at first I thought he was crazy, because the plan was always that we would be going our separate ways this summer. B-But he told me that he had in fact been working as hard as he could to do well in school, and he had managed to get into a couple colleges in New York. He didn't want to break up just because I was destined for Broadway and he wasn't. I... I didn't want to either. So he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Not now, but one day."  
>Kurt found himself on the verge of tears too; his heart was breaking for Rachel. Losing Finn, especially after the two of them promised to be together forever... it was beyond tragic. He barely found his comforting embrace suitable to console her given the circumstances.<p>

"That's not even it, b-because..." Rachel sniffled. "After he gave me the ring, I told him I wanted to g-go all the way with him, right then. I had been thinking about it for a while, and... In that moment I loved him so, so much. So we stayed up all night just... making love over and over..."

"Rachel... Shhh... Just take a deep breath," Kurt soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly. He didn't necessarily want to hear everything, but he knew Rachel really needed to let it all out.

"I'm not ready to let him go," she whispered into his shoulder. "But I just couldn't bear to see him all broken and bandaged up..."

Kurt tucked her hair behind her ears affectionately, and wiped the wetness off her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. She stared up at him with her deep mahogany eyes, scared and lost and begging.

"For his sake," Kurt suggested. "What if he knows what's going on? What if he is just waiting to hear you tell him how you feel?"

"How am I supposed to express it all though?" she shrugged.

Kurt smiled a little; a knowing, understanding smile, tinted with sadness.

"Sing for him."

Rachel's facial expression turned hopeful as she nodded to Kurt's idea.

"I think I will."

She gave him a hug with one arm, and he wrapped of his around her waist. He promised himself he would help her through this to the best of his ability; Finn would want him to.

"Thanks," Rachel whispered into Kurt's ear. "For everything."

As she slid away from their embrace, Kurt noticed something sparkle.

"Do you want me to take the ring off for you?" he asked.

She looked down at the glistening, blood stained diamond gracing her finger.

"No thanks," she responded with a small smile. "I want the world to know that I am forever his."  
>...<p>

"Hi Finn," Rachel began. She held his hand in hers as she sat on a chair at his bedside.

"I have so much I want to tell you, but I'll try to sum it up with the song that will always be ours. Or one of them... I would sing Pretending, because you wrote it for me, but... I'm not pretending. I decided to start wearing the ring you gave me. I will for the rest of my life. And... I'll never forget last night, Finn." She watched his chest rising up and down for several seconds, just taking in that image so she would never forget it.

"Here goes.

_Highway run__  
><em>_Into the midnight sun__  
><em>_Wheels go round and round__  
><em>_You're on my mind_

_Restless hearts__  
><em>_Sleep alone tonight__  
><em>_Sending all my love along the wire__  
><em>_They say that the road__  
><em>_Ain't no place to start a family__  
><em>_Right down the line it's been you and me__  
><em>_And loving a music man__  
><em>_Ain't always what it's supposed to be__  
><em>_Oh boy__  
><em>_You stand by me__  
><em>_I'm forever yours__  
><em>_Faithfully__  
><em>

"I love you, Finn." A lone tear made its way down the side of her face. "I'll always love you."

She leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly.

"Rach... don't cry..." muttered Finn, his eyes fluttering open. He didn't remember much, but slowly he had become more and more aware over the last several minutes of the scene before him.  
>Rachel jumped back, staring with wide eyes, full of confusion and surprise. She couldn't believe what she saw.<p>

"F-F-Finn..."

"Yeah," he responded, chuckling a little at her shock.

"Y-You..." she stuttered, unable to do much else. He looked tired, but his chestnut eyes were as bright as ever.

"Are we in heaven?" Finn asked. The last thing he really remembered was the swerving car speeding towards them, and wrapping his arms around Rachel at the last minute. But maybe he had failed to protect her, maybe she was dead too...

"No," she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. She crumbled to her knees next to him. "We're both alive."

"Rach..." he sighed, cupping her face with his hand, and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"They said you would never wake up though. And I- I thought I would lose you."

"You have me," he reassured in a soothing voice. "I'm right here."

She leaned down, giving him the purest, softest kiss, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body. She never thought she would feel his lips on hers again.

"Can you remember everything?" Rachel asked as she pulled away.

"I remember the crash, but then I blacked out," he recalled.

She lifted her left hand, resting it on his bed so he could see the ring.

"And this? Do you remember last night?"

He could tell that the ring had been damaged. It made his hurt a little to see it, and his mom would murder him, but it was still there, on Rachel's finger.

"How could I forget?" he smiled, remembering all the promises they had made.

"I-I should probably go get your family," Rachel said, rising up from her kneeling position.

"Rach..."

"Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"You'll still marry me, right?"

She nodded through her tears.

"Of course."

**Shall I write a possibly M oneshot about this Finchel scene before the crash, hmm? Tell me! :)**

**And I do love reviews... gimme your thoughts!**


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